Peter Legge to give business press keynote at Magazines University

Peter Legge, the President and CEO of Canada Wide Media Limited of Vancouver, has been announced as the keynote speaker for the Canadian Business Press luncheon June 2 at Magazines University 2008.

In addition to running one of the largest independent magazine publishing companies in western Canada, Legge is well known as an inspirational speaker and author. His most recently published work is The Power of Tact.

Canada Wide produces 11 self-owned magazines (among them BC Business, Westworld, BC Home, Gardenwise, Granville, Grocer Today and TV Week), 28 custom publications and several related e-letters and websites). The whole company started when Legge bought TV Week in 1976.

Message from participants in magazine conferences: kiss and make up

[NOTE: This post has been updated.] We promised to report on the results of the online questionnaire, asking readers to give their views about the two magazine conferences that took place this past month -- Magazines University and MagNet: Canada's Magazine Conference.

According to the latest information available, the attendance at the two conferences was:

• Magazines University (according to the Mastheadonline website):
• 1,348 unique registrants
• 2,611 registrations for seminars and events
  

• MagNet (according to a bulletin from Magazines Canada, which said the details had been approved by its board of directors):
• 692 unique registrants
• 2,518 registrations for seminars and events

To reiterate: this questionnaire was put up by the Canadian Magazines blog without the support, or even approval, of Magazines Canada, Masthead magazine, the Canadian Business Press, Circulation Marketing Association of Canada or any of the other partners and associates of the two conferences.

This is more of a straw poll; a self-selecting sample and shouldn't be considered representative in any way of the wider industry or even those in attendance at the conferences.

Still, the responses and comments are interesting and may be useful in any post mortems by both organizing teams and in assessing what happens next.

Copies of the survey's summary results were sent to both Magazines Canada and to Masthead (through whom it was shared with the Canadian Business Press) and these representatives of both conferences declined to comment directly about the questionnaire.

[UPDATE] Mark Jamison, the President of Magazines Canada said: ""We appreciate any feedback and will review it in the context of all the member and sponsor consultations we are beginning now as we prepare for MagNet 2008 June 4-6". And on behalf of Masthead and the Canadian Business Press Masthead Publisher Doug Bennet said: "We are not ready to comment on the survey at this time. We have a post-mortem meeting scheduled for July 11 with all the Mags U partners (including the audit boards) at which we will confirm the final numbers and formally evaluate this year's show."[END UPDATE]

[Fair disclosure: I write a column for Masthead and have given seminars in the past for Magazines University. I also do consulting work for Magazines Canada, sit on their professional development committee and was a moderator at three panels presented this year at MagNet.]

Survey summary

• There were 59 surveys completed.
  
• Of the 52 respondents who gave their postal codes, 73% were from the greater Toronto area, 17% from southern Ontario, 4% from Montreal, 2% from Ottawa, 2% from Manitoba and 2% from Alberta.
  
• 41% worked in editorial, 36% in management, 20% in circulation, 9% in advertising, 2% in production
  
• 32% worked at a consumer magazine, 9% at a trade magazine, 5% were custom publishers
  
• 13% were suppliers, 11% were conference sponsors
  
• Of those, 19% attended Mags U, 43% MagNet, 30% attended both and 8% attended neither.
• 74% who attended Mags U and 65% who attended MagNet said overall experience of the conferences was Excellent or Very good

Asked for their opinion of various specific aspects, the answers were:

• Location (Excellent or Very good): Mags U, 87%; MagNet, 80%
• Price of events (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 88%; MagNet, 93%
• Quality of presentation (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 89%; MagNet, 80%
• Opportunity for networking (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 89%; MagNet, 69%

• Asked to select statements that most closely represented their views about the two conferences, the answers were as follows:
• I cannot afford the TIME to attend two different conferences: 72%
• This industry is too small to sustain two conferences: 53%
• I cannot afford the COST of attending two different conferences: 53%
• It seems to me to be confusing to have two conferences: 44%
• There should be only one conference and it should be MagNet: 26%
• There should be only one conference and it should be Mags U: 18%
• I appreciate having a choice of conferences: 14%
  
  Open-ended comments
• As I'm based in Toronto, it isn't a problem for me, but I can see how people from the rest of the country would appreciate having one conference as they are pretty much forced into picking only one.
• There are some things at Mags U that I would have liked to attend but couldn't possibly go to both conferences. It seems to me to be the height of absurdity to have two conferences. Surely there must be a way to solve whatever the conflict is and return to one conference.
• Perhaps if one was immediately after the other, there'd be more opportunity for folks from out of town to still attend both.
• The length of courses at MagNet is far too short (75 minutes) and only offers a glossing over [of] the course curriculum.
• It is too obvious that these conferences are competing with each other. More cooperation please.
• I would much rather one conference that ran longer, perhaps for a full week. I don't mind that there are two, but it makes sense to me that by combining efforts there would be opportunity to offer a broader variety of sessions as well as increased discounts for attendees.
• The downtown location of MagNet puts it on the top of my list.
• I have to come in from Montreal. Unless all the events -- including the NMAs-- are held in the same week, I cant really afford to attend. A Magazine Week that leads up to the NMAs is the most reasonable solution. Now, can we get folks to work together?
• Kiss and make up!
• It would be nice if they weren't so close together. I think a coordinated effort to support a Spring and a Fall conference would ensure a viable plan for all entities involved. We sent an employee to one session at MagsU because they couldn't attend MagNet and they enjoyed it.
• A larger, combined conference should have the financial resources to bring in top quality speakers who will benefit both the trade and consumer sides.
• MagNet brings together the consumer magazine press in Canada. Looking at who was at the Thursday lunch, virtually anyone who is anyone in the business was there. Hard to discount that.
• The pre-conference email newsletter became VERY annoying after awhile. Getting 2-3 emails from each conference each week was a bit excessive. It made me want to dump both events.
• Business and consumer magazines have different needs. Why not hold them in the same location, during one week, with half the time devoted to business mag concerns and half devoted to consumer.
• Only one.
• To be of true service, the parties behind MagNet and Mags U should kiss, make up and focus on putting together the best conference they can -- content, content, content.
• If there must be two, then don't schedule them to run so close together.

Say your piece about mag conferences

Still time for you to give your views about Magazines University and MagNet in our online questionnaire (which closes this Monday). For more details, see post.

Two magazine conferences and what you think about them

This has been a busy month in terms of professional development, with two national magazine conferences running back-to-back in Toronto. Just to remind you, they were:

• Magazines University, which -- until this year -- was a partnership principally between Masthead magazine, Magazines Canada, the Canadian Business Press and the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC). This year, for the first time, it was produced by Masthead and the Canadian Business Press only. It consists of a series of seminars, a trade show and various special events such as the Kenneth R. Wilson awards for trade magazines and the Canadian Newsstand Awards. As has been usual in recent years, it was held at the Old Mill Conference Centre in the west end of Toronto. It ran for two days, Tuesday June 5 and Wednesday June 6. The official count of registrations was about 1,300.*
  
• MagNet: Canada's Magazine Conference, which this year is a partnership between Magazines Canada and the CMC, who ran a wholly separate conference in downtown Toronto at 89 Chestnut Street. It consists of a series of seminars and a number of special events, including the ACE awards for circulation marketers, the Magazines Canada luncheon honouring the national volunteer of the year, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors awards dinner and culminated in the National Magazine Awards. It ran for three days, Wednesday June 13 to Friday June 15. The official count of registrations was about 2,400.*
  

It may be that some people in the industry see these two shows as complementary; or that they will be competitors who keep each other sharp. But there are undoubtedly also people who think that it's a shame that a cooperative approach can't be found to hold one Magazine Week, encompassing both consumer and trade, the industry's two major trade organizations (Magazines Canada and CBP) and its trade magazine, Masthead.

In the interests of assessing the views of those who attended one, or both, conferences and of anyone else with a stake in what happens, including sponsors, an online questionnaire has been prepared by this blog.

(Please note: this is being done without the approval or endorsement -- or even the knowledge -- of either conference or its organizers.)

To complete the questionnaire online, click on this link. It should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. It will remain live until Monday, June 25, at which time the results will be tabulated and published here.

*A reliable, comparable number of registrations, attendees, what have you, is in dispute and unavailable at this time; therefore struck from this post.

June is magazine conference month

This is shaping up to be a heckuva three weeks in Canadian magazines with a whole lotta learning, networking and schmoozing goin' on.

Starting today (June 4) and through Wednesday, June 6, Masthead magazine and the Canadian Business Press are partnering for Magazines University at the Old Mill in the west end of Toronto (with other partners being the audit organizations CCAB/BPA Worldwide and the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors and the Independent Publishers Association of Ontario). This event has been held for many years at this location. Masthead reports that 1,200 registrations are in hand for a variety of seminars, dinners, trade show and awards programs, including the Canadian Newsstand Awards and the Kenneth R. Wilson Awards gala for the Canadian Business Press.

Starting next Wednesday 13th at 89 Chestnut Street in downtown Toronto, MagNet kicks off, partnered by Magazines Canada and the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC), along with the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, the Professional Writers Association of Canada and the National Magazine Awards Foundation. This is the first such event since MagsCanada and CMC left Magazines University (see postings passim) and it includes a program of seminars, dinners, events and awards, culminating on Friday 15th with the 30th annual National Magazine Awards. Word is that more than 2,000 registrations been received for that event.

Then the following Thursday 21 and Friday 22, Magazines West is co-produced by the British Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) and the Western Magazine Awards Foundation. There are two days of seminars, culminating in the Western Magazine Awards are held at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside hotel. No word on the registrations there but it can be expected to be more than 500.

Rep fret about conference choice

It was probably inevitable that criticism would break into the open about there being two magazine industry conferences in Toronto within a 10-day period this June. From the estimable (but slightly cranky) Reptile (an anonymous ad rep) comes a more-or-less tongue-in-cheek advance "scorecard" of the two events. Reptile like the Mags U shield logo, hates MagNet's reverse type, etc. etc. In a very Canadian way, he winds up in a deadlock with himself. (We suppose the real scorecard will happen after the events, when the attendance and revenues are totted up.)

Magazines University is produced June 4 to 6 at the Old Mill, by Masthead Magazine and the Canadian Business Press, partnering with the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, CCAB/BPA, ABC and the Independent Publishers Association of Ontario. MagNet is run June 13 to 15 at 89 Chestnut by Magazines Canada and the Circulation Marketing Association of Canada along with the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, the National Magazine Awards Foundation and the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

[Fair disclosure: I am moderating two sessions at MagNet (Mags U didn't ask me) and this site carries a sponsored (i.e. paid) link from the conference.]

Newsstand awards deadline approaches

Nomination time looms for the Canadian Newsstand Awards which are held each year as part of Magazines University. Deadline is April 12. Nominees will later be named in six categories plus best new magazine for titles launched in 2005 and 2006. Winners will be announced June 5 at the Old Mill Inn and Spa.